Violence and Pletcher Grab the CashCall Futurity

Trainer Todd Pletcher
seems to be living by Horace Greeley’s 1865 saying, “Go West, Young Man”. Pletcher took the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile at Santa Anita with Shanghai Bobby and he went west again with a two-year-old to take the CashCall Futurity(G1) with Violence.

As part of his western
expansion plan, Pletcher got his first victory in the CashCall Futurity. He did not shy away from the artificial
surface as Violence remained undefeated in three tries. His first win came in
August at Saratoga when he won his maiden special weight by a neck. On Nov. 4
Violence won the Nashua Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct by two lengths after surviving
a very rough trip.

“He’s a colt that we’ve thought a lot of all along,’’ said
Pletcher. “He’s a big, leggy colt that we felt like was going to continue to
improve and mature. After he won first time out, we talked about a couple of
strategies. One was to try and make the Breeders’ Cup and the other was a more
patient strategy. We decided that if we were going to run him once more this
year, this race made the most sense. Another factor in deciding to ship out
here is that he is the kind of horse that has such a great disposition and good
mind that shipping wouldn’t bother him at all.’’

Violence raced mid-pack while saving ground on the rail. Coming
around the final turn jockey Javier Castellano moved him into the two path and
passed front running Fury Kapcorito
win by 1¼ lengths. The strong field of 11 horses featured four horses trained
by Bob Baffert. Baffert’s best finisher was third place with Den's Legacy.

The son of Medaglia d’Oro was purchased for $600,000 as a yearling
at the Keeneland September Sale by Black Rock Thoroughbreds. The victory
boosted the earnings of Violence to $543,000 and also got him 10 qualifying
points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, moving Violence up to third place
in the standings.